Tour de Fiz 64km Race Report
During our family trip to Chamonix, I signed up for the Tour de Fiz race as part of the build up to UTMB. It’s 40 miles with almost 17,000 feet of vertical, which is no joke even for races in the Alps. It is a bit longer and has 3,500 more feet of vertical than the Trail Verbier race I did two years ago before UTMB, so it would also be a good test of fitness. I ran a bit under 11 hours at Trail Verbier, so I figured under 12 hours on the longer and tougher course would be a good benchmark.
The race starts at a lodge partway up the mountain, so I had to wake up before 3am, drive to a nearby town, and catch a 30 minute bus up to the start line. Good god I was tired. I choked down some powdered coffee and staggered over to the start. They counted down, and the field of 400 was off into the dark.
The race took off at typical European warp speed. I was about 80 runners back but knew I’d catch quite a few runners soon enough. We had 4-5 miles of steep climbs and descents on forest trails, and then we started the first 4,500 foot monster climb. I was feeling good and passing a few folks as we made our way up to the first aid station. We continued climbing and then had 800-1000 feet descending to break up the uphill grind. After that, it was a serious climb with 25-35% grade up a slot in the cliffs. We crested a ridge, ran through the second aid station, and ran right into a herd of Ibex. They were running across the trail with big daddy Ibex guarding, and I was really hoping he didn’t come at me with those horns! We had a last crazy steep push over the Col. It was getting really cold as we climbed (I was still in t-shirt & shorts), but I figured it would be best to get over the Col and then make tracks down to lower altitude and warmer temps.
We crested the huge climb, and the first part of the descent was slow going as it was wildly steep and technical. The terrain mellowed a bit, and I started speeding up. We had 5,000+ feet of descending and two more huge descents coming up, so I wanted to make good time but also didn’t want to trash my quads too early! I managed to hold my place in the field, maybe passing 1-2 people over the descent.
Down, down, down we went. There were massive waterfalls from the continuing rain, and parts of the trail were getting pretty slick. I had been having a rough time with my right knee since smashing it during a fall in May and then falling again on it 1.5 weeks before the race. Towards the bottom we ran through a farm field and took a sharp right turn, and I unfortunately slid out and landed on me knee, removing the scab and re-opening the wound. Sigh. I washed it out in a fresh stream and pushed on down to the next aid station.
I came into this aid station a bit behind schedule with the wet, slippery descent, but I wasn’t too worried. I refueled and started up the steep 3,700 climb. I expected to hike all of this, but I felt strong and was moving REALLY well. I actually ran a good chunk of this 20% grade trail and passed a few more people going up. There were a few sketchy cliff crossing with waterfalls rushing down. I had held off putting on my jacket, but it was rainy going up and getting colder by the minute. I finally broke and put on my jacket, and we hit the aid station at the top of the mountain. When they scanned me, they saw I was from the US (the only runner in the race from the good old US of A), so we had a nice little chat in English.
I was hungry but it was freezing up here, so I had to hustle through and make tracks back down! It was a super steep trail that bombed down 3,500+ feet in not very many miles. I felt good at first, and it was getting slightly warmer as we went down. Then I started feeling the nutrition going off and was bonking. When we bottomed out, I figured that I probably needed some food. I had brought a peanut butter and nutella wrap and decided to give that a try. Well it was like rocket fuel, and I was back in business!
It was the third and final major climb, and I was feeling pretty good. I knew the toughest section of the race was still to come though, so I tried not to get too carried away. An aid station popped up earlier than I expected. They asked if I needed first aid on my leg, and I said I’d be ok. I grabbed a few things and carried on for the rest of the climb.
I was moving fast and on pace for a really strong race if I could keep it up. Right around here we met up with the 30km course, and 500+ runners had come through. With so many hours of rain and so many runners passing through, the trail become absurdly muddy. When we hit a short, steep descent to the next aid station, it got pretty treacherous. I really struggled on this section and was trying hard to stay upright! Finally the trail bottomed out at the aid station, where I shoveled in some food and Coke before the last part of the climb.
The first part was very steep, but I was feeling fine and making good time. We hit a muddy flat section past a lake and then hit the last part of the climb. All was good, but I was getting super hungry, and my stomach was rumbling. I was dreaming of slamming coke, cheese, bread, and chocolate at the last aid station in less than a mile. And yes, this actually sounded appealing, which I guess means I’ve gotten used to crazy aid stations in the Alps?
A little ways before the aid station, we hit the world’s worst slip & slide – inches upon inches of mud going down a 30 degree steep slope. There were enough rocks strewn about to make it very hazardous, and it was tough sledding to say the least. I was desperately trying not to fall and slipped my way down to finally arrive at the aid station. Yeeaassss – foooooodd! But then I saw that they diverted us to a different trail and away from the aid station. Noooo!!!!!!
It was a steep and rocky but very runnable wide trail, but I was bonking HARD. I needed calories desperately, but there was nothing to do but head towards the finish, which was 5 (five!) miles away. After two miles we got scanned in at a checkpoint, and I asked in French if there was any food. They said no and that it was at the next aid station in 1.5 miles. I looked down at their personal food stock – some delicious cheese and bread – and sadly trudged away down the mountain.
FINALLY we got to the aid station that was a mere 1.2 miles from the finish. While it would normally be ridiculous to stop this close to the end, I had to pull over to stuff my face with food. Phew, I soon felt much better and started charging to the finish. The last bit was uphill, and we hit another just silly mud section. I tried hard to make forward progress and crossed the finish line in 10 hours 5 minutes, good for 30th place.
For 40 miles with 16,700 feet of climbing and some tough conditions, I was thrilled. I was almost 2 hours faster than my target going in. Even better, I recovered quickly and was already in decent shape the next day. It was a huge confidence booster for UTMB. The only downside was not being able to see any of the race, but I guess that is a reason to come back another time!